// Home / News

Amazon doubts Kindle X-ray damage report

By Stewart Mitchell

Posted on 21 Nov 2011 at 11:23

Amazon has said airport X-ray machines don't damage its Kindle ebook reader, following reports of fried E Ink screens during security checks.

According to a report in The Daily Telegraph, “Kindle users' holiday reading plans could be disrupted by airport security measures”, with the paper claiming "multiple complaints" had been made over the issue.

The paper cited only one Kindle user who said his device had been rendered useless after passing through an airport scanner in Madrid, and included comments from a professor who said static within the X-ray machines could “conceivably” damage E Ink screens.

Yet Amazon's forums reveal no complaints from users of the devices – and in more than 40 comments on the Telegraph story no-one else had witnessed the problem with E Ink in X-ray machines.

Amazon said airport security machines do not cause problems with the Kindle, echoing comments from readers who also pointed out E Ink was used in several other devices.

“Exposing your Kindle to an X-ray machine, such as those used by airport security, should not cause any problems with it,” a spokesman told The Telegraph. “Many Kindle users travel by air, and their Kindles are screened by airport security every day without issue.”

We are waiting to hear back from Amazon regarding the number of devices it has replaced due to the issue to determine the scale of the problem.

Subscribe to PC Pro magazine. We'll give you 3 issues for £1 plus a free gift - click here

From around the web

User comments

Hmmmm

Devices do fail from time to time. If yours happens to have gone through an X-ray scanner before you notice it has failed, guess what is going to get the blame.

You might just as well blame it on the cabin altitude, or the cabin crew's deodorant.

By qpw3141 on 21 Nov 2011

Or the significant...

dosage of EM radiation which it receives while travelling at high altitude (in a plane).

By PaleRider on 21 Nov 2011

I blame the plane ...

the altitude of planes (as PaleRider mentioned) exposes electronics to all manner of gamma radiation that is known to break things like camera sensors http://photorumors.com/2011/07/07/bringing-a-digit
al-camera-on-a-plane-kills-pixels

By bendeavin on 21 Nov 2011

I blame the plane ...

By bendeavin on 21 Nov 2011

My Kindle has gone through airport x-ray scanner at least 40 times now since I've had it and never had a problem. Although they do always insist on swabbing it to check it doesn't contain explosives...

By skarlock on 21 Nov 2011

I have to go through an x-ray scanner twice a day and my Kindle has survived the last year without a problem.

By CSprout on 21 Nov 2011